Dishwashing machine



' G. WEBB DISHWASHING MACHINE Jan. 13, 1942.

Filed July 26, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet l w\ Hv h l P l P 3 7 T 2. L

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Jan. 13, 1942. G. WEBB DISHWASHING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July26, 1937 fnr/srzar' 5502" B Webb Patented Jan. 13, 1942 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE DISHWASHING MACHINE George Webb, Hartford, Conn., assignorto Colts Patent Fire Arms Manufacturing Company, Hartford, Conn., acorporation of Connecticut App ication July 26, 1937, Serial No. 155,607

3 Claims.

The principal object of this invention is to provide a dishwashing'machine of compact construction in which certain parts may bereadily removed to permit cleaning and inspection of the machine.

Other and further objects of the invention will be readily apparent tothose skilled in the art from the following disclosure.

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated the invention asrequired by the statutes, but it will be understood that the drawingsare for illustrative purposes only and are not to be construed aslimiting or defining the scope of the invention, the claims forming apart of this specification being relied upon for that purpose.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a dish washing machine embodying theinvention, certain parts of the casing being broken away to show theinternal construction and other parts of the internal construction beingshown in dotted lines.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the lower section of the dish washing machinecasing, certain parts being omitted for clearness.

Fi 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 with all of the parts in place.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged side elevation of a washing and rinsingfluidconduit system made in accordance with one phase of the invention.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged bottom view of the lower washing and rinsing fluiddischarge head.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged top view of the lower washing and rinsing fluiddischarge head.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged plan view of the central portion of one of thewashing fluid transverse conduits prior to assembly with a washing fluidmain conduit.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged view of one of the washmg fluidtransverse'conduits after being assembled with -a main conduit, the viewbeing taken v transversely of the longitudinal axisof the main conduitand with parts of the transverse conduit broken away.

Fig. 9 is a cross sectional view taken on the'line 99 of Fig. 4.

Prior to the present invention most dish washing machines have been ofsubstantial size and consequently could not be used where only a limitedspace could be devoted to dish washing such as in soda and lunchfountains, small kitchens, and other similar places. These prior artmachines were also of complicated and 'relatively expensive constructionwhich further precluded a more universal use. My dish washing machine isprimarily intended for use in such hereinafter, certain phases of theinvention are susceptible of application to any dish washing machine,and as to these I mean broadly.

In Fig. 1, I have shown one form which a dish washing machineincorporating the features of the invention may take. This machineincludes a casing, means for supporting a tray of dishes to be washed,and a washing and rinsing fluid distribution and control system.

The casing is preferably formed in two sections l and 2 from stainlesssteel and may be rectangular in cross section: The section I of thecasing may be provided with a peripheral flange 3 which may rest upon orbe secured to a table top or other supporting means 4. The sectionZfihas one or more openings 5 therein which permit access to theinterior of the casing. Doors such as shown at 6 may be slidably mountedin guideways I, and door counterbalancing means including chains 8,pulleys 9, and a weight l0, all of known construction, are preferablyprovided.

. lower portion serving as a reservoir for the washing fluid which is tobe recirculated. This dividing means or partition preferably includes aperforated portion, through which the fluid, after passing over. thedishes, must'pass to return to the reservoir. In this way the fluid tobe recirculated is freed of any refuse from the dishes being washed. Theperforated portion may take the form of one or more removable refusetrays, the same being preferably so located and supported that removalthereof may be easily effected.

I have shown a casing dividing means incorporating the above features ofthis phase of the invention and I shall now describe the same as it isthe type which I now deem preferable.

The dividing means comprises a substantially horizontal imperforateportion or apron I2 and a perforate portion which, as shown in Fig. 3,comprises a plurality of refuse trays l 3 and which is positioned insubstantially horizontal register with the apron l2. The sum of therespective areas of the imperforate and perforate portions is such thatit equals the cross sectional area'of the casing, that is, the areas ofthe imperforate to claim themv and perforate portions are complementalwith respect to the area of the casing.

The apron I 2 is preferably supported by brack-- ets l4 secured to thesides of the casing, and, if

desired, one or more thumb screws l5 may be provided for detachablysecuring the apron to the brackets. The perforated portion may also restupon one or more supports ifi'extending from the side of the casing andit may also have an edge extending over the adjacent edge of the apronto be supported thereby. I have illustrated this construction forsupporting the refuse trays l3, as is-apparent in Fig. 3, wherein theforward edges (as viewed in this figure) of the refuse trays projectover and rest upon the edge of the apron l2.

The construction so far described is disclosed above and below thedishes to be washed. Each discharge head may include a washing fluidconduit having fluid discharge openings therein and a rinsing fluidconduit also having discharge openings therein. I now prefer to soconstruct each of these two heads that it may be mounted in or removedfrom the casing as a unit. One method of effecting such unitaryconstruction'is to at least partially support one conduit from theother, preferably at arplurality of points.

When this form of unit construction is used the conduits may extendsubstantially .parallelly to each other and a portion of one mayencircle the other to be supported thereby, the encircling portionassuming the form of a branch conduit.

.In the drawings, and more particularly in Figs. 4-9, I have shown aportion of afluid distribution system including discharge head unitsembodying one form which this phase'of the invention may take. The upperand lower heads may be identical in structure, if desired, and they areso shown. In view of the identical construction,

' only the lower head unit will be described.

The washing fluid conduit includes a main portion or member 41 andtransverse portions or members l8 which may have their ends closed bycaps 19. Suitable discharge openings 20 are provided in the transverseportions through which the washing fluid may be forced. The portions i8are of smaller diameter than the main portion I1 and may be securedthereto in any desiredmanner. In Figs. '7 and 8 I have shown a preferredconnection which is effected by notching the members l8 as shown at 2|in Fig. 7, sliding-them through transverse-apertures in the member I!until the notched portions are positioned therewithin, and thenexpanding the connecting strips 22. into contact with the interior ofthe member I! as shown in Fig. 8. The contacting portions of the twomembers I! and 18 may be brazed together if desired. A constriction suchas shown at 23 is preferably formed in the member 11. This constrictiontends to equalize the flow and the pressure of the washing allelly tothe washing fluid conduitis a rinsing fluid conduit which includes amain portion or member 24 and transverse portions or members 25. Inaccordance with this phase of the invention one of the fluid conduits isat least partially supported by the other and in the construction shownthe rinsing fluid conduit is supported by the washing fluid conduit. Ipreferto provide means to so support this conduit at a plurality ofpoints and, while other means of support may be utilized, I have shownportions 25 of the transverse members 25 encircling the transverseportions' l8 of the washing fluid conduit. When encircling conduitportions, such as 26, are pro-- vided, I consider it preferable toposition these encircling portions. between the discharge openings 20 inthe transverse members It so that they are outside the zone of directdischarge from said openings and therefore will not cause any diminutionin the force of the fluid discharged through the openings 20. Theencircling portions 26 are provided with nipples 21 having dischargeopenings 28 therein. In this manner the portions 26 constitute branchconduits with respect to the transverse members 25.

When my novel discharge head unit is used in a washing machine whichincludes a removable casing dividing means such as above described. thedimensions of the unit are preferably such that it does not interferewith the ready removal of the refuse trays. I have shown suchconstruction in Fig. 3 wherein the lower discharge head unit is shown asprojecting over only the apron I21 It should of course be understoodthat if some other type of discharge head construction were used inconjunction with a casing dividing means such as. above described,- thedimensions of the substituted construction might well also be so limitedfor the same reason.

In furtherance of the concept of making the lower discharge head readilyremovable to expedite removal of the apron l2 for cleaning andinspection purposes, I have provided plural conduit couplings forconnecting the discharge heads with the fluid distribution systems. beunderstood, however, that-the discharge units may be coupled with thefluid distribution sys tems in other ways if desired.

In the illustrated construction a T fitting is used for connecting thelower discharge head with the distribution systems, the construction ofthe T being shown in detailin Figs. 4 and 9.

The washing fluid distribution system includes the T fitting, the bar ofthe T being the portion 29 and the leg of the T being the portion 30.The bar and legportions of the T fitting are formed 'with intersectingpassages in the usual manner.

' face 33 of the T leg, I now prefer to use a clamplug nut 35 for thispurpose. When a clamping nut is used, the leg of the T is preferablyprovided with a flange 36 of circular outline which is peripherallythreaded to cooperate with the internally threaded clamping nut 35. Thenut has an inwardly directed flange 31 which en gages the-member 33.todraw it tightly against the face 34, and at least a portion of theperiphery of the nut may be non-circular in orderto facilitate rotationof the same. As is'apparent It should member and beyond the face thereofin Fig. 9, the member 33 is circular inoutline that the nut, 35 isfreely rotatablethereabout.

In using this type of coupling in my dish washing machine I prefer toform straight passages through the member 33 of such diameters that theconduits l1 and 24 may project through the for reasons which will behereinafter apparent. As shown in Fig. 4, the passages in the leg of theT are of such diameters that the portions of the conduits l1 and 24projecting beyond the face of the member 33 are receivable therein. Inorder to reduce the possibility of leakage, the member 33 is preferablybrazed or otherwise secured to the conduits l1 and 24.

The combination of a discharge head unit such as already detailed with aplural conduit coupling not only permits the head to be readilyconnected to or disconnected from the fluid distribution systems, buthas the additional advantage of preventing rotation of the conduits l1and 24 with respect to each other and with respect to the fitting tothereby insure proper. directional discharge from the discharge openingsin these conduits. This prevention of rotation results from the factthat the washing and rinsing fluid discharge heads are non-rotatablysecured to each other by'the encircling portions 26 and from the factthat portions of the conduits I! and 24 project into the passages in theleg of the T.

For reasons to beset forth hereinafter, the T fitting preferably has aflange 38 and a projection 39 formed thereon.

In the illustrated form of the invention the upper discharge head isconnected with the distribution systems by a similar couplingconstruction, an elbow fitting being substituted for the T of the lowerhead connection for obvious reasons. It should, however, be understoodthat some other form of coupling might be used if .desired.

The remaining portions ofthe fluid distribution system may, if desired,take the form illustrated. The rinsing fluid distribution system in-'cludes, in addition to the upper and lower discharge portions alreadydescribed, a valve 4| having its inlet side adapted to be connected to asupply of rinsing fluid by a ,service pipe, and conducting meansincluding an elbow 42 and a pipe 43 which passes through the flange 38on the T fitting to be supported and held in place thereby and which isconnected with the rinsing fluid passages in the T and elbow fittings.The conduit 32 is preferably connected to the pipe 43 at a point locatedwell above the level at which the washing fluid is normallymaintained'in order to eliminate any possibility of the washing fluidentering the service pipe connected to the valve 4| in the event of avacuum being formedin the service pipe. The washing fluid distributionsystem includes an outlet 44 in the bottom of the casing, a motor drivenpump 45 connected with the outlet and with the T fitting, and a pipe 46connected with the T and elbow fittings. The

tank may be filled with washing fluid in any desired manner, such as byfilling with rinsing fluid and then adding any desired detergent, forexample. A drain plug 41 is preferably provided in the bottom of thetank.

In the'washing machine the pump is secured to-the bottom of the casingand due to the fact that its inlet and discharge passages are connectedto the outlet .44 and T fitting, respectively, it serves to continuallyrecirculate. the washing fluid as long as the pump motor is operating.

motor and the rinsing fluid valve 4| are provided.

As the control means forms no part ofthe'invention claimed herein, nodetailed description of the particular means illustrated is given otheris such as'to',

draws the washing fluid from the tank portion of p the casing throughthe outlet 44 and pumps it into the distribution system from which it isdischarged'through the apertures 20 in the discharge heads. Afterpassing over the dishes the fluid drains onto the apron 12 or refusetrays l3, passes through the perforations in the trays to be freed ofrefuse and into the lower tank portion of the casing to be recirculatedby the pump. After the dishes have been subjected to the action of thewashing fluid for a sufficient length of time, the operator moves thehandle 48 to rinse position. This movement serves to. open the switch inthe pump motor circuit and thus causes the pump to stop operating andalso serves to open the rinse fluid to flow into its distributionsystem. After the dishes have been thoroughly rinsed movement of thehandle 48 to its original or neutral position closes the valve 4|.

If desired the operator may easily lift out the refuse trays l3 forcleaning as the lower discharge head does not project over them. Theapron l2 may also be easily and quickly removed. To effect removal ofthe apron the lower discharge head must be first removed and to do so itis only necessary to unscrew the single clamping nut 35, separate thelower discharge head unit from the T fitting and lift it out. The apronmay now be easily removed by simply removing the thumb screws I5 andsliding the rear edge of the' apron out from under the flange 38 on theT fitting. The apron, lower discharge head, and refuse trays can bereassembledin the machine by a mere reversal of these steps.

Alternative forms of the invention will be apparent to those skilled inthe art, and I do not intend to limit myself to any particularembodiment except as defined in the claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a dish washing machine of the type comprising a casing havingupper and lower portions, the said upper portion having an openingtherein permitting access to the interior of the casing and the saidlower portion constituting a tank charge unit, a single couplerconnecting said unit to said conducting means so as to be readilyconnectible thereto and disconnectible therefrom,

v said discharge unit comprising a washing vfluid conduit havingdischarge openings therein, a rinsing fluid conduit closely adjacentthereto, and means projecting from one of said conduits remote from thepoint of coupling for at least partially supporting the same from theother Suitable control means for the electric pump The doors 6 arelowered to" conduit, said means being a branch conduit connected withsaid one conduit and having a discharge .opening therein.

2. In a dish washing machine of the type comprising a casing havingupper and lower portions,

the said upper portion having an opening therein permitting access tothe interior of the casing and the said lower portion constituting atank for the reception and storage of washing fluid, dish supportingmeansandwashing and rinsing fluid conducting means; a washing andrinsing fluid discharge unit coupled to said conducting means so as tobe readily connectible thereto and disconnectible therefrom, saiddischarge unit comprising a washing fluid conduit having dischargeopenings therein, a rinsing fluid conduit adjacent thereto, and a branchconduit connected to one of said conduits and having a discharg openingtherein, said branch conduit encircling the other said conduit at apoint remote from the point of coupling whereby one of said inpermitting access to the interior of the casing and the said lowerportion constituting a tank for the reception and storage of washingfluid, dish supporting means. and washing and rinsing fluid conductingmeans; a washing and rinsin fluid discharge unit coupled tosaidconducting means so as to be readily connectible thereto anddisconnectible therefrom, said discharge unit comprising a ,washingfluid conduit including transversely extending portions'having discharge"openings therein, a rinsing fluid conduit positioned adjacent thewashing fluidv conduit and including transversely extending portions,the

said second conduit being of such configuration that portions thereofextend substantially parallelly to corresponding portions of the firstsaid conduit and being so positioned as to be outside the zone of directdischarge from the first said conduits is at least partially supportedby the other.

3. In a dish washing machine of the type comprising a casing havingupper and lower portions, the said upper portion having an openingthere-

